Just purchased a 1996 Civic LX with 156,000 miles on it. I want to perform a tune-up and some other things since I'm not sure of the service history. I searched the threads and it seems fairly simple so I'm not to concerned about doing the work myself.

My question involves the parts needed. There seemed to be a common consensus when it comes to the distributor cap/rotor and spark plug wires. Most people recommended only using genuine Honda parts for these 3 items. All the rest of the parts didn't seem to be as important whether they were genuine Honda or not.

Can someone explain to me why it is so important to use genuine Honda parts for these 3 items? Or is it really not that important?

 

Honda OEM parts are just miles above anything else out there, specially when it comes to the ignition system.

Buy OEM and know you are getting parts that will fit correctly and last 100k+.

 

Full ignition system tune up - distributor cap, rotor, spark plug wires, and spark plugs. Adjust ignition timing.

Use Honda wires and the NGK spark plugs listed in the owner's manual. Using aftermarket cap and rotor should be okay.

 

 

Its important b/c its a major component of the ignition system. (ie- your vehicle starting/running everyday)
You want quality parts to replace these parts b/c you rely on them very heavily. The OEM stuff is the highest of quality -- so you end up changing it less and depending on it longer.
Spark plugs---everyone likes NGK- no sense in going OEM--everything else, you'll want the OEM parts.

Most of the tune up parts are offered in packages- that you can pick up for pretty cheap